Libyan women members of House of Representative meeting

Tunis – Nov. 10, 2016 - A first of its kind gathering that brings Libyan women parliament members together with their counterparts from neighbouring countries has opened today.

The three-day conference is attended by women from House of Representative (HOR) members representing constituencies from all over Libya along with male members of the HOR. They will meet with fellow women parliamentarians from Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Chad and Niger.

Following the request by the women members of Libya’s House of Representatives, the conference will be a venue for sharing experiences and identifying suitable solutions for challenges facing Libyan women.

“This gathering comes at a crucial time for Libya as we seek to rebuild our nation,” said HoR member Naima Dief. “Not only do we want to participate in national dialogue for peace, but we also want to raise women’s membership in the parliament to parity level by 2030,” she added.

“In any society, women are a driving force and we salute all the attendants and give special thanks to the members of HOR from Libya for their ambition and courage as they seek to bring about change in in the country during this transitional phase,” said Noura Hamladji, Libya Country Director and Acting Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) “This conference is an excellent forum for everyone here to speak of how they overcame challenges. This can only help the Libyan women in the HoR to perfect their role in helping their country,” said Magda Elsanousi who heads the Women’s section at the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The conference will end with a set of recommendations focusing on the role of women MP’s in national reconciliation, peace building measures, legislation and and improving dialogue and negotiations mechanisms.

For the past few years, UNDP and UNSMIL, have worked to empower women through paving the way for stronger civic and legislative participation.

Today’s conference is supported by AMEL, or HOPE, a UNDP project that provides different forms of assistance to Libyan women during the transitional phase to reinforce their presence in the politics. Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands are supporting this conference.